Help - Consumer Rights?

[bigTillyMint]

So my DD was complaining that her laptop wasn't charging properly and that she couldn't open certain internet sites - like Yahoo and C4. I checked it and the charging port was kind of pushed in so you had to hold in the charging cable and I couldn't get on Yahoo either on it.

So I took it to our lovely computer man (have been going to him for a few years - proper local business) who said no probs to fix the socket and he would look at the other stuff.

Phone call today - he put in the new socket but he can't get it to charge at all. Has been working on it for over 24 hours. He is still trying, but it looks like he might have to extract all her data onto a hard drive and then bin it It is just under 3 years old.

It was working before (albeit not great) but is completely dead now. Where do you think I stand in terms of Consumer Rights? I don't want to make an ugly fuss - he is a really nice man, but it will be £££ to replace it.

How old is the laptop?

If it was charging before you took it in, albeit from the cable being held, and now after being looked at it wont charge at all I would say your lovely computer guy is taking the pee.

I would challenge him about it, ask him it worked before why isnt it now? He is the expert, he should be able to explain why

The laptop is just under 3 years old.

He is extracting DD's data onto a hard-drive for her and is going to run more diagnostics. He thinks it could be the battery as apparently they are designed to last about 2 years for this model. That would make sense as it was charging slowly before.

But if it's not the battery and we decide to bin it rather than throw money at it, where do you think I stand?

If the battery is dead then you should still be able to run it plugged in. If Lap top three years old very likely that battery knackered.

Inability.to access yahoo and C4 a different issue though.

Thanks, that's useful to know. I think he said yesterday it was just not reacting to the charger being plugged in at all.

The charging port on a device is always a weak point, and not always easy to replace.

I have just been googling and it looks like it was a lithium battery which is likely to lose 80% of charging power in 1-2 years.

None of this stuff is easy to know/find out for the average person!
I think there is a real gap in the market for non-partisan advisors to help people find the right kind of laptop or at least understand what they are buying and how to look after it!

3 years is pretty old in laptop terms, so I don't think you've got much recourse as it could easily be argued it would have needed replacing pretty soon anyway, even more so given it was being very problematic.

Re certain websites not opening. It is much more likely to have been an issue with your router, the browser settings or a virus

Thank you!

Yes, I didn't think the websites was anything to do with the battery! Infact googling, I saw that this laptop is prone to losing connection with the internet.

In terms of consumer rights what matters is whether the computer guy has exercised reasonable care and skill. With something like this the only way to find out would be to get another expert to take a look. The fact that the laptop won't charge after replacing the socket does not necessarily mean that the computer guy has done anything wrong.

Hopefully a new battery will fix the issue (although, as others have said, not the inability to open certain websites). If it doesn't, given the age of the laptop I would look to replace it and not worry about whether the computer guy has done anything wrong.

Well, that's exactly it, Pr! I sure that he has exercised reasonable care - he is lovely.

I think your advice is what I was thinking - just wanted it confirmed I guess. He is going to try a new battery and if that doesn't work I will buy a new one. Gulp!